New analysis indicates that Walt Disney Company has accrued losses close to $900 million across eight film releases from June 2022 to the same month in 2023.
The eight titles included in the recent analysis are “Lightyear,” “Thor: Love and Thunder,” “Strange World,” “Elemental,” “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” The Little Mermaid,” Back Panther: Wakanda Forever,” and “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.”
The eight recent movies released by Disney cost approximately $2.75 billion for production and marketing, generating a disappointing return of just $1.86 billion, according to a video by Valliant Renegade, a YouTube financial analyst.
During the last two years, Disney has grappled with internal challenges and public controversies, resulting in the company currently laying off 7,000 staff members as a way to save money, according to The Western Journal.
Its streaming platform Disney+ reported a concerning decline of 2.4 million subscribers, significantly impacted by the reduction in the Disney+ Hotstar service in India and Southeast Asia.
Disney’s remake of “The Little Mermaid,” with a black actress in the title role, notably underperformed in China. A report by Inside the Magic suggested that Disney even altered the actress’s race on promotional materials for the Chinese market, which stirred additional controversy.
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“Lightyear,” the latest sequel of the “Toy Story” franchise, also suffered from box office failure, marking the franchise’s lowest-grossing film. The controversial decision to replace Tim Allen with Chris Evans as Buzz Lightyear, coupled with the inclusion of a same-sex kiss, faced substantial criticism.
Another film, “Strange World,” which featured the representation of an openly gay teen character, grossed a meager $147 million, reportedly costing Disney a loss of $200 million on the film.
Additionally, Disney’s recent release, “Elemental,” had a weak domestic debut with a mere $29.6 million, marking the company’s worst three-day weekend start to date.
Experts argue that while Disney seems to be banking on its historically successful children’s movies, the company needs to consider what modern viewers truly desire. Current indicators suggest a preference for traditional narratives rather than the progressive themes the company has been exploring in recent years.
This news article was partially created with the assistance of artificial intelligence and edited and fact-checked by a human editor.
